Tennessee lawmakers, led by House Speaker Cameron Sexton, are proposing the creation of a state task force to study how the Volunteer State can free itself from federal mandates by weaning itself off federal funding for education. The move drew praise from conservatives and whining from liberals.
The legislation, filed this week, would create an 11-member panel that would ultimately make recommendations to top state officials, including the governor, on how Tennessee’s public education system could cut ties with the increasingly radicalized federal government. The state should “do things the Tennessee way,” said Speaker Sexton.
Like other states, Tennessee receives some federal money each year, much of which comes with strings attached — including testing and increasingly, gender-bending extremism. For most states, the total federal funding amounts to about 10 percent of the state’s education costs or less. Tennessee receives almost $2 billion per year.
If approved, the bill would create a committee including six legislators, two school superintendents and two teachers. The panel would be appointed by Gov. Bill Lee and Sexton, the House Speaker. It would be chaired by Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, who made headlines during the Covid crisis for peddling government “wellbeing checks” for all children in the state.
https://thenewamerican.com/tennessee-lawmakers-consider-ending-federal-funding-of-education/
